


When Morning Comes

by ImpulsiveWeaver



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-06 03:43:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18842938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpulsiveWeaver/pseuds/ImpulsiveWeaver
Summary: Claudette is dealing with much more than the others might think, but she can't let them know. Will she fall to pieces, or will her problems give way to something she never thought possible? (Rated M for swearing). [P.S. Why can't I ever make a good intro?]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey readers! ImpulsiveWeaver here, and I am back with another story. This one is from the popular video game, Dead by Daylight. I've played this one for many hours and I love it. But I should say that Dead by Daylight is not my property, and neither are any of the characters, themes, or anything else in this story. Now that that is out of the way, let's begin!

Claudette shivered and moved to sit closer to the fire. The eternal fire that never seemed to die or need feeding. The fire that hailed as a beacon of safety and warmth at the end of each trial. A chance to recover and regain some of their hope that the Entity seemed to tirelessly consume.

Just like that fire, Claudette and the others never seemed to die or need feeding while living this hellacious cycle of chase, capture, and impalement. Claudette shivered again and this time the others seemed to notice. Jake shouldered his jacket off and wordlessly held it out to her.

"Oh! Thanks Jake, but I'm alright. I'm just...warming up, that's all".

Jake nodded and put his jacket back on without a word. Claudette gave him a small nod back as thanks before turning her gaze to the rest of the survivors. Until now, Quentin, David, Laurie, Nea, and Meg had been discussing possible techniques to evade the killers when being chased, while Dwight, Detective Tapp, Ace, Feng, and Bill were trying to find a pattern in which location the entity chose to spawn them through previous trials.

Dwight had noticed her contemplative gaze and excused himself from their discussion. Walking over to her, Dwight had regained his nervous look that so constantly plagued his features. Though Dwight's skittish behavior dominated his appearance most of the time, Claudette noticed that he always stood a little straighter or forgot his nervous ticks when he was helping the others.

The others had noticed it too. In addition, they had noticed that they always seemed to be at their best when Dwight was there to support. No one knew why, but it had become increasingly obvious as they partook in more and more of the Entity's nefarious trials.

Dwight had been oblivious to the subtle boosts he gave to the others, of course. Claudette almost smirked to herself as Dwight stopped in front of her and knelt down.

"Are you...doing alright Claudette?" He said, nervous but determined.

"I'm alright Dwight. I'm sorry for worrying you," Claudette replied.

Dwight looked at her for a second before nodding.

"Ok then, just thought I'd ask," he said before returning to the group to continue their speculation.

Claudette inwardly sighed. She was definitely not alright, but she couldn't let Dwight and the others know. If they knew, they'd only worry about her. And Claudette knew she'd never forgive herself if she became a burden to the group, as if she wasn't already.

Claudette tried to calm her nerves as the futility of the situation began to drag her down yet again, and her fears that she tried so hard to shove down nearly resurfaced yet again.

How long had she been here? Days, months, years? Time was impossible in the Entity's realm, and the trials had begun to blur together the longer Claudette had been here.

Was this her fate? To be hunted countless times and forced to suffer just as many? Would the sum of her life amount to just being food for this cruel...THING that haunted the skies and feasted on her hope?

Claudette now fought to keep her composure in front of the others, but her sorrow only continued to grow as she eyed he other survivors.

Did she really ever help the others when they were in the trials together? Claudette clenched her fists as she remembered all the times she had slipped up on a generator and had gotten herself or one of the others hooked in the process.

Claudette squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered her one true fear.

What if they were better off without her? How many more trials could they survive if they didn't have to pick up Claudette's slack? Was that all she was? Just dead weight?

Claudette's facade finally shattered as a sob forced its way out of her throat. Claudette opened her eyes to try and explain away her sudden outburst, only to realize that the campfire was gone. And instead she found herself yet again dropped into another trial.

Claudette's sniffed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Now was not the time to dwell on her fears. There wasn't enough time. Claudette blinked her eyes and scanned her surroundings.

She had spawned in a forest with trees towering around her. A thick fog blanketed the landscape, giving Claudette a limited range of sight. This was fairly common, as the Entity purposely engineered the area to intensify the trial. The air was cool, and light drops of rain fell through the tops of the trees. If not for the circumstances, Claudette might have actually enjoyed he scenery. But she'd seen it more times than she could count, and immediately recognized it as the domain of the killer they named the Huntress.

Trying to determine her position, Claudette looked to her left and immediately spotted a generator nestled underneath one of the enormous trees. Glancing back to her right, Claudette scanned for any signs of activity before crouching down and slowly make her way to the generator.

Once there, Claudette knelt down even further and began the slow process of hooking up the wires and tightening the bolts on the machine.

As hard as she focused, Claudette never seemed to be able to work as quickly with the generators as Feng or Bill, and she wished she had someone like Dwight here to help her with it. She always seemed to relax more and work faster when Dwight was there to help her.

By the time she was done, she heard two more generators spring to life through the haze. Hurrying to finish her own, Claudette quickly bolted as soon as soon as it was done. Moving as fast as she dared, Claudette quickly ducked behind a tree as she heard the sound of humming approach through the trees.

Claudette crouched low and tried to calm her nerves as her heartbeat began to rise in volume, and risked a glance toward her recently finished generator as the Huntress materialized from the fog.

Inspecting the generator, the Huntress released a frustrated growl before scanning the area around her. Claudette pressed herself as close to the tree as she could, praying she hadn't been seen.

The Huntress appeared not to have spotted her, and moved toward one of the other generators close by. Letting out the breath she had been holding, Claudette relaxed against the trunk of the tree.

After a few seconds, Claudette saw another generator's light stab the darkness. Getting to her feet, Claudette tried to remember where the remaining unfinished generators were. She was wrenched from her thoughts as a sudden scream tore through the air. Claudette's blood turned to ice in her veins as she recognized the scream. Claudette jumped to her feet and quickly sprinted in the direction the Huntress had taken.

Rounding another tree, Claudette skidded to a stop as the Huntress came into view. Laurie was thrown over her shoulder, and Claudette froze in horror as the Huntress threw the blond-haired teen onto the nearby hook. Laurie screamed as the hard metal dug through her flesh, and Claudette barely had time to register before the Huntress turned to look directly at her. Claudette couldn't see the huntress's face behind the hare mask she always wore, but Claudette knew her intentions as the Huntress began to reach for a hatchet placed on her belt.

Claudette's turned and bolted away as she heard the hatchet strike the tree just behind her. The Huntress had resumed her hummed lullaby, causing Claudette's blood to run even colder. Claudette put on a burst of speed as a log cabin came into view. If she could get to the cabin, she might be able to lose the Huntress inside…Claudette cried out as a hatchet tore into her shoulder. The pain was agonizing, but she had learned to put it in the back of her mind through practice. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she sprinted to the cabin faster than she had ever run before.

The siren of the exit gates droned through the air as Claudette climbed the steps to the cabin. If she could distract the Huntress a little longer, maybe the others could save Laurie and make it out safely.

Claudette just made it past the doorway before the Huntress's axe cut deep into her back. Claudette had been so worried about the others that she hadn't noticed how loud the humming had become. She screamed as she fell flat into the main room of the cabin. The humming resonated in her ears as the Huntress heaved Claudette onto her massive shoulder. Claudette only hoped that she bought enough time for Laurie and the others to escape.

The Huntress continued her melodic humming as she carried Claudette back out of the cabin and into the forest again. She tried to struggle, but the huntress's iron grip refused to yield, and Claudette did not have to wait long until the excruciating pain of being hooked coursed through her body.

The Huntress stepped back and almost seemed to examine Claudette for a moment before turning and heading off toward one of the exit gates. Her humming had become slightly agitated at capturing so few during this trial. Claudette barely noticed.

Claudette felt a slight sense of satisfaction despite the pain of the hook. She was sure the others could make it out through the gates in time. Knowing that they were safe, Claudette could at least tolerate it when the Entity's spider-like projections would skewer her body.

Claudette's satisfaction turned to dread as she saw Bill materialize from the fog. He was heading straight for her.

"N-no!" Claudette managed to gasp out through the pain. She tried to raise her arms to tell him to run, to save himself, but Bill kept coming. When he reached the hook, he wasted no time in lifting Claudette off.

"What are you doing?!" Claudette wheezed as Bill began to usher her towards one of the gates.

"Saving your hide, dumbass," Bill said through his cigarette. "The fuck does it look like?"

"You should've left me." Claudette felt tears well up in her eyes as she realized that she had managed yet again to put the others in harm's way. "Now none of us will make it."

Bill grunted in half-amusement. As the open exit gate came into view, Claudette saw Dwight crouching next to Laurie in front of the entrance. He kept looking around nervously and kept biting at his nails, a habit that he tried to rid himself off, but sometimes couldn't help in dire situations.

"Dweebus over there wouldn't leave unless we came to get you. Kid has got a fuckin heart big enough for all of us, but he's dumber than a sack of shit sometimes."

Claudette should've felt complimented at Dwight's determination to save everyone, but her mind only worried about how much more peril she had placed them all in.

Claudette stiffened at the sound of humming behind them. It was angry humming. Furious. Deadly.

As if in slow motion, Claudette turned to see the Huntress with her arm cocked back, hatchet poised and ready for release. With a quick and efficient motion. Claudette saw the hatchet snap forward towards the group.

Claudette's eyes widened as she realized who the hatchet was for. They had learned some time ago that it took two hits to bring each survivor down, and Bill and Dwight had both been unscathed during the trial. Which left Claudette as the only one that was sill injured. Well her and...

Claudette screamed as she realized that the Huntress's trajectory was off. The hatchet would miss Claudette by a mile, but the Huntress was too skilled to miss. She almost never did. The Huntress had picked a survivor that she knew would fall when the hatchet struck. And Claudette was not that survivor.

Still moving in slowed time, the hatchet continued towards Laurie. The survivor destined to perish in this trial, to be left behind. Sacrificed. Because of Claudette.

The tears began to come, and Claudette knew that she deserved this hell she was in. She had let them all down. She was the weak link, and now someone else would suffer from her inferiority.

No. Not like this. Claudette blinked back tears as she began to move, the hatchet still flying straight and true towards its mark. Claudette could not let them suffer, not in this way. Claudette turned as she moved to see Laurie's eyes go wide as she only just now registered that the hatchet was aimed at her. With her last bit of strength, Claudette managed to push Laurie behind her as the hatchet struck.

Claudette's chest erupted with blood. Her senses blurred, and she heard a faint scream through the pain and fog. It was a shrill piercing scream and Claudette thought it was Laurie, but Dwight had been known to shriek like that one occasion. Claudette almost smirked as her body hit the ground.

The pain should have exploded through her body, but Claudette felt strangely at peace as her vision began to fade, and all outside noises became muffled. She felt like someone had stuffed her head with cotton. The world tilted even as Claudette lay on the forest floor.

Claudette closed her eyes as the world went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

To say that the Huntress was angry would be an understatement. The Huntress was furious. Fuming. She had considered herself to be the best among all of the Entity's killers due to her natural skill and lack of need for supernatural tricks and gimmicks. To her, a true hunt was with a simple weapon. A blade or an axe, not electricity or magic bells or some sort of dream world to pull prey into. The Huntress detested the other killers for that. In her eyes, even the Trapper was not without fault. Using a rusted mechanism to hunt for you while you were away had no honor, no thrill, and no place on the hunt. That's why she was the best, the most skilled, and the most aware.

So then why was this trial going so poorly for her? She had placed two of her prey on a hook during this trial, and the exit gates were already powered. She was better than this. Better at predicting her prey.

There had been no new survivors, the Huntress had axed and hung these same souls countless times. She had seen three of them working on a generator. And had just hung the fourth one a few seconds ago.

This trial, there was the blonde girlish one, who seemed to have experience with being hunted. That one always seemed to fascinate the Shape so much. He always seemed to know when she was in a trial, and always ignored the others until she was sacrificed. He went after her with unusual intensity. The Huntress guessed that he knew her once, in a time before the Entity's influence.

There had also been the old one, an elder that had seen conflict and war, seemingly not just against men, but something else as well. Something more dangerous. The Huntress was thankful for that because he presented a challenge. The Huntress appreciated him for that reason. Experienced prey was much more invigorating to hunt then young stupid ones. He kept her skills sharp.

The third was the darker colored, more thoughtful one. The Huntress sensed that this one had been very intelligent in the human world. Her eyes analyzed the nature that the Entity placed in its trials with recognition. She seemed to always be worried about the others, almost like a doe seemed to fret about her fawn. The Huntress knew that if a survivor was placed on a hook, she would soon be close, looking for a way to get them back. That made her predictable, and the Huntress almost always placed her on a hook at least once when she was in her trials.

The last had been the small and timid one. No. That was not right. He had been timid, when he was first dragged in the Entity's realm, but he soon had stepped up as a sort of leader of the survivors. He was not like the alpha in a pack of wolves that the Huntress had seen so many times before, for he was not the biggest or the strongest. No, this one organized the others, and seemed to encourage and support each of their strengths while minimizing and sometimes even eliminating their weaknesses. He seemed to bind the group together despite the seemingly constant fear that was painted on his face, and people like him were the reason that humanity was the Huntress's favorite prey.

For though humanity exhibited many traits akin to the creatures she had hunted in another life, there was so much more to them. Sometimes they detected their own patterns of predictability, and changed them, which had always intrigued and challenged the Huntress. No two humans were exactly alike either, and the Huntress could find no one tactic that worked on all of them. Before the Entity, that kept her guessing each time they had wandered into her woods, and even now in the Entity's realm she could not begin to properly track her prey until she knew which survivors were placed in her trial. They had always made things more difficult for her, and this allowed her to continue honing her skills to be more efficient. And this was why she was the best of the killers.

And it was also why her knuckles were white against the wood of her axe as she hummed closer to the exit gate. She had just hooked the darker one, and she was determined to make more fall to her axe. Through the trees, she saw that the exit gate she had chosen was untouched. The door was closed, and no light glowed from the switch, which meant no one had even begun the slow process of opening the door.

The Huntress let out an angry growl before turning toward the second gate. Her humming continued. She knew they would all be going to open that one, for as she stalked toward the gate, she heard the survivor she had most recently hooked be freed from the metal contraption.

The Huntress sidestepped another tree, and the gate came into view. It was open, and the old one had just arrived with the girl the Huntress had just hooked. The blonde one and the small leader were there as well. Knowing she wouldn't reach them in time, the Huntress growled in irritation, and she reached to her belt and pulled forth her last hatchet. In a split second, the Huntress made her decision. The two girls were her targets. Both were still injured, so it would only take one hit for them to fall.

In another split second, the Huntress picked the blonde one. She was an easier target, and was slightly distanced from the others. If she fell, the others wouldn't be able to drag her through the gates in time.

With a shout, the Huntress threw her hatchet with deadly intent. The second the hatchet left her fingers, the Huntress knew it would be a direct hit. The hatchet would land square the girl's back, who was turned away from the Huntress at the time. The others would surely run and escape, but the Huntress would capture one prey today. It would be better than nothing.

The Huntress's begrudging satisfaction turned to shock as the hatchet missed its target. She watched in bewilderment as the blonde one screamed, but not from pain. The hatchet had not hit her, for the other injured girl had thrown herself in front of the hatchet just in time. The small leader shouted and moved toward the dying girl to try and drag her toward the exit, but the old soldier grabbed both him and the blonde and bolted out of the gate. That had been a smart move. He couldn't have saved her, no one could have.

The Huntress walked toward the dying girl. It was only the two of them now. All that was left to do was to place her on a hook. But the Huntress stopped just a few feet away and examined the girl. The hatchet protruded from her chest, and blood gurgled out of her mouth as she struggled to breath.

Why? The question burned in the Huntress's mind. Why did she sacrifice herself to save another human? When the Huntress had hunted the soldiers and travelers before the Entity came to her, most had seemed focused on the sole prospect of self-preservation. Only this group of survivors seemed to do demonstrate self-sacrifice. In fact, the only time she had ever seen something like that in the real world had been-

The Huntress froze as something buried deep down inside her struggled forth. It was painful and tormenting and it threatened to tear her to pieces. Her humming stopped and the Huntress dropped her axe to clutch the sides of her head as a shard of her past burst to the surface. The forest faded around her.

…

Anna stared wide-eyes as the beast cried and struggled on the ground nearby, it was a large male, but it's antlers were gone. It looked strange without its antlers, but Anna barely noticed.

"Anna..."

Anna turned to the source of the voice. Her mother lay there in the snow. One of the elk's antlers protruded from her stomach like a small tree growing from the ground. The other lay on the ground next to her mother. It was stained red with blood, her mother's blood, and it dripped softly onto the pure white snow underneath. The axe was stained red too. Her mother had dropped it next to her.

"Come here, Anna," her mother said, weakly but still comfortingly at the same time.

Anna walked over to her mother. She was frightened. Her mother had once told her that blood was bad if it was coming out of you, and that you should try to stop it if it did. You would sleep forever if you did, and her mother said that was bad. So, wasn't this bad too? Her mother was bleeding, there was a lot coming out of her, so why wasn't she scared? What didn't she try to stop it?

"Mama? You are bleeding. Is-isn't that bad?" Anna asked, still unsure.

"It's alright Anna. Come sit with me."

Anna curled up next to her mother and felt her large arms wrap around her. She felt warm, but not as warm as she usually was.

Her mother planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I wish it wouldn't be so loud," Anna said.

The elk continued to make noise behind her, and Anna just wished it would stop.

Anna's mother didn't respond, but she smiled down Anna and began humming. Anna recognized her favorite lullaby as the song began. The one that her mother always sang to her on the nights when the wind battered the walls of their home, or when Anna was sure there was a monster hiding under her bed. It was always the most comforting to her.

Anna began to feel better as the humming soothed her fears. The elk's cries faded into the background as her mother continued.

Anna did not know how long they remained there, but soon the elk grew softer and quieter until it fell completely silent.

Her mother continued to hum, but slowly it too grew softer and softer. Soon it was quiet in the clearing, save for a slight wind whistling through the snow-laden trees.

Anna looked up at her mother's face. Her eyes were closed, and Anna thought that she might be asleep.

"Mama?" Anna asked tentatively. She gently shook her arm.

Her mother remained still.

Anna was about to shake her again when she realized how cold she was. Her mother wasn't giving off heat anymore.

"Mama?" Anna said again. Her voice cracked.

Anna then realized that her mother was indeed asleep. But she was going to stay asleep forever. She couldn't wake up. She never would.

Anna reached over and gave her mother a hug. It was a cold hug, not like the ones they used to share by the warm fire at their home. But Anna hugged her anyway. She knew this would be the last time. It felt numbing. Like the times Anna had gotten so cold that she couldn't feel her fingers anymore. Except this time, it was all over her. It was within her. It consumed her. Anna could not feel anything. Not her fingers. Neither her toes. Neither her heart.

Standing up slowly. Anna saw the axe still laying in the snow nearby. She walked over to it. The axe was not built for her little frame, so Anna used both hands to pull it up out of the snow. Dragging it behind her with the head scraping along the ground. Anna turned to her mother one last time before starting the long trek home.

"I love you Mama. Goodnight."

…

The Huntress fell to her knees and screamed a loud, bloodcurdling scream. She had never screamed so loud in her life, and the noise reverberated through the forest. Her screams quickly turned into gasping sobs as memories of her mother and of her past life poured into her head like water from a tap. She had felt so numb for so long. And now all of the feelings had returned. Years upon years of pain. Pain of losing her mother. Pain of killing all of those travelers…those soldiers…those villagers…those…mothers, and finally, the pain of those girls. The ones she had tried and failed to keep. The ones she tried and failed to love. She had tried so hard, but she hadn't shown them love. She had shown them her numbness. Her defense against feeling compassion, and they had returned the favor. They couldn't love her. They never would've. The Huntress suddenly felt everything, and the weight and remorse of her actions threatened to crush her. The Entity had only made things worse. It had encouraged her, given her strength, given her endless prey, and she had accepted it with open arms. She was the monster that they all thought her to be.

The Huntress continued to sob before realizing that she was still in the trial. The trial did not end until all survivors were sacrificed or killed by the killers' hands. The Huntress opened her eyes and looked at the dying girl in front of her. She was still breathing, but it was shallow, and the blood stained both her and the ground beneath her.

There was so much blood.

The Huntress moved quickly out of instinct, and she carefully scooped up the girl in her arms. She quickly ran as fast as she could while keeping her steady against her chest. She carried the girl like a baby. A precious cargo that the slightest damage could break.

Arriving at the cabin, the Huntress carefully laid the girl down on the floor before hurrying to the stairs that led to the basement. The room the survivors feared most. As the Huntress rounded the corner into the room. She truly saw the room for the first time. She had seen it through the eyes of a killer, yes, but now she saw with the eyes of a human. Four hooks were arranged in the center of the room, and the walls and floor were caked in dried blood. There was so much blood. The Huntress gazed at the room for a moment before coming to and hurrying to the corner of the room. The Entity had placed a chest there. It usually always did. It seemed to find cruel humor in placing rewards in the most dangerous of places. The Huntress threw open the lid of the chest, nearly ripping it in half in her haste, and began to look for the specific thing she needed.

She quickly found what she was seeking. The Entity had placed a medicine kit in the chest, and that was exactly what the Huntress was looking for. Climbing the stairs hurriedly, the Huntress rushed over to the girl still lying on the floor.

In her former life, the Huntress had been taught basic first aid by her mother. As she grew older, she had to learn more by trial-and-error. She wasn't perfect, but she knew enough to save this girl's life. The Huntress opened the medicine kit and began tending to the wounds that she herself had inflicted. The thought made her grimace, but she forced it away to focus.

After the Huntress fixed every wound to the best of her ability, she carefully picked the girl up again and laid her down on a simply constructed bed. Once she was sure the girl was stable, the Huntress sat down at a table not far away. Too many memories crowded her mind, and she needed time to clear her head. She slowly brought her hands to her face and removed her mask and veil. Setting them down on the table beside her, she closed her eyes and remembered everything she had forced away so long ago.

Images of every kill flashed through her mind. Every child she had taken, every scream, every failure to love, they all forced their way up after years and years of dormancy. The Huntress began to softly sob into her hands. She had hurt so much. She had taken so many children from their mothers.

Mothers.

The Huntress suddenly remembered the times her mother was alive. These memories were different. The Huntress began to remember how gentle her mother was, how she had sung for her when she returned home with bleeding cuts or bruised appendages. She remembered birthdays, one day every year that her mother made her sweet bread and gave her a gift. She remembered being taught how to throw her first hatchet, and how excited she had been when she had brought home her first kill.

The Huntress lost track of time as she sifted through memories good and bad. All the while, she silently made a vow: Never again would she hunt for the sport. Never again would she rob another of their children. Now, she hunted to protect. Only to protect. That meant that she was never to play the Entity's games again. No survivor would be sacrificed by her again. From now on, she was still a huntress, but never a monster.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Claudette felt was pain. Nothing but pain. A combination of sharp piercing torment and encompassing agony registered in Claudette's head and she gasped loudly as her eyes forced themselves open. Claudette wheezed for a few seconds before the pain subsided to something more manageable. Claudette's breathing slowed as her muscles relaxed once again. She waited a few seconds before coming to her senses again.

The last thing she remembered was Bill helping her toward the exit gate. Laurie and Dwight had been there too, and Claudette remembered feeling relieved. But then the Huntress had appeared and…

Claudette violently sat up and immediately regretted that decision as every part of her body screamed at her in pain. She fell back and her head hit something wooden. That was odd. Claudette frowned as she saw a wooden roof above her head. There were no wooden floors or awnings at the campfire. Claudette had assumed she had been sacrificed, and even when sacrificed the survivors always returned to the campfire. So why was she inside this foreign yet strangely familiar place?

Turning her head slightly, Claudette began to examine her surroundings. Her eyes immediately landed on a figure sitting at the table across the room. The figure appeared to be human, but it also appeared to be enormous compared to the humans that Claudette was used to. David was the largest man Claudette had seen, and this human dwarfed him. Squinting, Claudette could make out a face with extremely short hair on the top of its head.

Claudette started slightly as the figure turned to look at her. The figure rose from the table and walked over to where Claudette lay. The person's clothing and movement seemed familiar to Claudette, but she could not put her finger on it. Claudette watched the figure's face as it drew closer to her. As the person approached, Claudette realized that this massive person was in fact a woman. At first Claudette had not been sure, but as the person came closer, Claudette could see her finer features on her face, and the swell of a bosom underneath the outer shirt that wore.

That shirt…

Claudette recognized that shirt. She recognized the brown overalls that attached to the tool belt at the woman's waist. The tool belt that held hatchets. Hatchets owned by the Huntress.

Claudette frantically tried to sit up again, but her body rebelled, and she fell back down onto the bed. Before Claudette could try to move again, hands grasped her and held her gently but firmly against the mattress. Claudette considered struggling but decided to conserve her energy. It was pointless in her current state.

The Huntress slowly removed her hands from Claudette's shoulders and stood up straight again. Claudette stared at her and realized this was the first time she had seen the Huntress's true face. There had always been that hare mask that she wore in the trials, but now Claudette truly saw her face for the first time. Claudette was actually very surprised at what she saw. The Huntress looked almost…normal. Bright green eyes stared down at Claudette. They seemed to be looking her over, and the Huntress's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as her gaze landed on the massive hatchet wound that had been stitched back together.

Wait, did she do this? Why would she sew me back up? Questions began to flutter in and out of Claudette's head. Why wasn't I sacrificed? Is this part of the Entity's sick game? Claudette was uncertain of how to answer her questions, but she decided to start with the Huntress.

"Why am I here? What are you doing?" Claudette asked aloud to the Huntress. The Huntress's eyes turned to Claudette's face, and the Huntress seemed to freeze for a moment. Then the Huntress shook her head and said a few words through a croaky voice. The language she used sounded familiar to Claudette, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. It sounded Eastern European to her, maybe Russian. That aside, Claudette still didn't understand what she said, so she shook her head to indicate it. The Huntress nodded at that. She did not seem to understand English either.

Before Claudette could think of what to do next, the Huntress picked her up in her massive arms and moved her across the room to set her down gently next to a fire that was stoked in the hearth. She placed her in a sitting position, and Claudette recognized the cabin around her. The warmth of the fire definitely comforted her, but more and more questions filled her mind with each new observation she made. If this was the cabin that she knew from previous trials, then she must still be in the trial then too. Claudette watched the Huntress disappear around the corner for a few moments before she returned with what appeared to be a wooden cup of some kind. It was full of water.

The Huntress brought it close to Claudette's lips, and Claudette began to realize just how thirsty she actually was. She gulped the water down greedily. And the Huntress nodded before setting the cup down next to her. Walking back over to the table, the Huntress grabbed a chair and sat down opposite Claudette. The Huntress then continued to look at her. Claudette squirmed a little bit, and then decided after a little while to try to at least get  _some_  information from the killer. Claudette cleared her throat.

"Claudette," Claudette said shakily. She gestured to herself as she said it. She was still incredibly unsure about the predicament she was in, but maybe she could get some reaction out of the Huntress.

"Culaw-det," the Huntress repeated through her heavy accent. She seemed to process it for a moment before smiling slightly. Her smile was…surprisingly pleasant. She seemed to like that name. The Huntress then turned her gaze to the floor. She seemed to be struggling with something. After a few moments, the Huntress turned her gaze back to Claudette. She gestured to herself.

"An-nna," the Huntress said slowly. The word almost seemed foreign to her. Claudette could see the mild shock on the Huntress's face. How long had it been since she used that name?

"Anna," the Huntress said again. She had more confidence this time. Claudette wanted to communicate more, but she began to feel much better, and she decided to try her hand at standing. Healing always happened at an alarming rate in the Entity's realm, and Claudette was feeling well enough to try. She slowly placed her hands behind her on the wall, and began to rise from the floor.

The Huntress stood from her seat and moved to help Claudette stand. Claudette actually required very little help, and she moved quite easily as long as she took it slow. Claudette turned toward the Huntress and made a motion like a door moving open. She wanted to signal that she was headed for the exit gate. The Huntress looked at her again before nodding. As Claudette made her way to the entrance of the cabin, she saw the Huntress pick up a Med-kit from the table before following her out.

Claudette guessed that both her and the Huntress had spent enough trials in these woods to know where the open exit gate was. They both walked side-by-side in silence. Claudette almost found it pleasant. That was if anything could be considered pleasant in this world.

It was not long before the exit gate stood before them. Claudette slowed to a stop and turned to face the Huntress again. Looking up, Claudette saw something that she had not noticed before: The Huntress had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face seemed sorrowful. Claudette suddenly felt a spark of what could be called compassion for the killer. Even though the Huntress had cut her and her friends down time and time again, something seemed different in her. She did not seem to radiate her malicious predator-like attitude from before. And now that Claudette saw her face, she saw that maybe they were not so different after all. Just players in the Entity's game. She thought of the other killers. Could they be changed too?

And idea wormed its way into Claudette's mind, and Claudette thought hard about what she was about to do. Was this a trick? Just another trap to feast on our hope? Sighing slightly, Claudette came to a decision. Reaching out, Claudette lightly took hold of the Huntresses arm. It was huge, and her fingers looked tiny in comparison. She began to gently pull the Huntress toward the gates with her.

The Huntress's eyes widened and she pulled back. Claudette looked up at the woman and nodded her head reassuringly. The Huntress, Anna, stared back at her for a few moments. Then her gaze softened, and she let Claudette lead her out of the exit gates and into the fog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There's another one for you! I gotta admit, when I first played Dead by Daylight, I instantly fell in love with the Huntress. I love she retains some pieces of her humanity. It just makes her that much more compelling in my eyes. Anyhow, don't forget to drop a review and let me know how much love or hate this story. I am always striving to improve my writing, and any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! If you want me to try and continue this story, let me know too! I was originally intending for it to stop here, but we can keep going if you'd like.


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